And He simply …Never changes. He never has and never will. The reason being- He’s God. He does not need to change. He’s perfect just the way He is, not to mention, Holy and Loving and Righteous.
In Him, there is no varying like shadows do in the day (James 1:17). He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. (Heb. 13:8) and we can read right there in the very last book of the OT where He makes it known quite clearly: “I am the Lord, I do not change.” (Mal 3:6)
I know we get fascinated with TV shows that feature things like old houses, old cars and even people getting ‘make-overs’. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, that’s kind of what the gospel and the plan of salvation is all about…giving humanity the ultimate ‘make-over’…as in “IF any man is in Christ, he is a New Creation”. (2 Cor 5:17).
Because of our fallen and selfish-sin nature, we were in a desperate need of a makeover. So God sent Jesus to do just that…lead us where we could ‘die to the old’ and allow Him to ‘conform us to the nature and image of Him’. (Rom. 8:29)
But God…He doesn’t need a make-over. And my goodness…humanity has been constantly trying to give Him one for as long as anyone can remember. In fact, God had to remind us of this very thing to the point where He included it in His Ten Commandments. It’s that one about ‘making, forming, carving’ images and worshipping them. You know our tendency is to ‘customize’ things and we do that frequently with God. This may come as a surprise to some, but we were never afforded the luxury, liberty, or license to shape and mold God out the way we think He should be. But we keep trying.
I would venture to guess the reason many believers today have a difficult time plowing through the Old Testament is because the ‘God’ we read about in there just does not match up with our modern perception that we have of Him. We may hesitate to ‘dismiss that God’ entirely, for obvious reasons…but we sure are reluctant to embrace Him. Let’s be honest…He kind of makes us uncomfortable. Some may even be ‘embarrassed’ by things we read from ‘back then’ and have a difficult time trying to ‘explain’ God much like we might feel if we had an older relative with a ‘past’ and so just do our best to avoid the subject.
We as fallen humanity easily lose sight of who God is. And that reason alone would explain the condition of our world today, a world I might remind us, that is under the influence of ‘the wicked one’. (1 John 5:19) The sole purpose of this spiritual enemy is to keep our minds and hearts and eyes off of God. In fact, Jesus clues us in through the parable of the sower that this wicked one comes immediately to snatch God’s word from our hearts to keep us from believing lest we be ‘saved’. And if he can’t do that with confusion, then he’ll bring on some persecution and adversity. If that fails, then there is always the sure fire method of getting folks all tied up in the ‘thorns’ which Jesus describes as the ‘cares of this life, the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things.’ (Luke 8; Matt. 13; Mark 4)
You see throughout the OT how God’s people, the Israelites, were constantly drifting away, losing sight of who God was, and rebelling against Him and His ways (law). God laments through Isaiah how an ox knows its master and a donkey knows its master’s crib but His own people don’t know Him. (1:3). He speaks even more plainly through Jeremiah and says “”My people are foolish, they have not known Me. They are silly children, and they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil but to do good they have no knowledge.” (4:22)
Just a few chapters later in Jeremiah, we also reads where God makes the case that while various birds (storks, turtledoves, swallows) know of their appointed times and such, ”My people do not know the judgement of the Lord.” (8:7). This would certainly include a host of people today because for the most part, God’s law has been ‘lost’ and we’ve not been properly taught just what His law was all about.
So where we are not taught the law, we have a distorted or limited concept as to what sin actually is. And if we don’t understand sin, then we will most likely not understand God’s judgements. And if we fail to recognize or understand His judgements, then it makes total sense as to why there is no ‘fear’ of God today. And for whatever that word may mean to you, we are told that it is the ‘fear of God’ that is the ‘beginning of wisdom/knowledge’. Hence, Hosea’s verse where God says ‘My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge’. (4:6). What is sobering to read is the latter part of that same verse where God said “because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”
Paul would later write to the Romans addressing this topic quoting the psalms where God assesses the condition of His people saying that there are ‘none who are righteous, none who seek after God…their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness…the way of peace they have not known and…there is no fear of God before their eyes”. (3:11-18). Oh, and that passage I cited earlier from Malachi where God said he does not change (3:6)…the verse just before it warns of coming judgement “because they do not fear Me.” (5)
So let us return to that generation of folks that came out of Egypt that we discussed the past few days. In the early years, God’s hand of blessing was upon them and they multiplied greatly. But for reasons not clearly revealed, after a new king came to power, something shifted or changed and the people ended up in bondage as slaves, serving Pharaoh. (Ex. 1:7-14). And life was not good for them. I cannot explain why this continues on for several hundreds of years, but it did. I have no idea what their religious or ‘spiritual’ life was like during this time, but I think it is safe to day they lost sight of God and who He was. They probably had their stories and traditions and such, but usually, the cause of people being ‘taken captive’ is because they have drifted from God, or just flat out turned away from Him.
But God who is long-suffering toward us and faithful to His word and promises, heard their groanings and sought to once again re-establish relationship with them. (Ex. 6:5) Enter Moses and the great story of how God delivered His people. So we have the account of all the plagues and drama of leaving and seas opening up and closing and pillars of fire and clouds and manna and water coming from a rock and all that exciting stuff we read about as God led them into the wilderness…and eventually Mt. Sinai where they were going to be officially re-introduced to God. This is a pattern we see over and over and over again. And you know what is a constant thing at is a part of this re-introduction? It’s God’s law.
That first generation that came out of Egypt….just didn’t ‘get it’. And most of them fell in the wilderness.(1 Cor. 10:1-11) In fact, the reason they ended up spending 40 years wandering had more to do with unbelief than anything else. God laid out this great plan on how He was going to lead them, protect them, provide for them and bless them in this new land. And they flat out said it could not be done. So God said ‘fine’…have it your way.
But then He tried again with that next generation and once again, there is a gathering to be re-introduced. Look at what He tells Moses there in Deut. 4:10- “Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, that they may teach their children.”
And as you read on through chapters 4…5…6…7…8…the theme is constant…know My law…do what I ask…and it will go well for you and your children and their children..etc.
Perhaps there are some fundamental truths woven through this all that we have missed out on. I’m not that full of pride to think I have it all figured out and that perhaps maybe I ‘missed a few chapters’ early on when it comes to my understanding and knowledge of God. I can tell you this…understanding the ‘fear of God’ was a big component that escaped me. And it has nothing to do with living in ‘terror’ from an abusive Father which sadly…many today probably have experience with. Or maybe an absent father even?
But this I know…the ‘fear of the Lord’ is something we need to be taught and learn about. – “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.” (Ps. 34:11)
What if…that has been a missing ‘learning block’ for countless others? Without that component…how can we expect to truly ‘know the Lord’ if that in itself is the ‘beginning of knowledge/wisdom’?
This I can tell…that theme (fear of God) is not absent from the writings of the NT by any stretch of the imagination. You might be surprised to see how often it is brought up and we may look into that more soon. And contrary to popular belief…those 400 ‘silent years’ in-between Malachi, the last book of the OT and the introductions of Jesus through the gospels…God did not go off to some clinic or retreat to get a make-over and try to improve upon His image.
He. Has. Never. Changed.
But…He did send Jesus…to change us. Truth be told…a lot of us don’t want to change. (John 3:19). Yet, for those who do …it will be a transformative experience, journey and walk. For to as many as received Him, to them, He gave the right to become the children of God. And for as many who are led by His Spirit…they Are…the children of God’. (John 1:12; Rom. 8:14)
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